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Folding / take-down hammock stand

The idea for this has been banging around in my head for more than a few months now and I finally got the time to put this thing together.

It is made from a single sheet of 1/2" plywood, two 2x4's, two strap hinges, a box of screws, some amsteel cord,and a bottle of titebond II glue.

When put together the tips of the uprights are just about 12' apart and 6' tall. Each leg is 8' long.

To build this thing, the plywood is ripped into 12 3.5" wide strips, leaving a little left over. The 2x4's are cut with 30 degree bevels on 12 pieces. I don't have the lenghts with me right now. The remaining 2x4 stock is cut into 5" long pieces. You'll need 14 of them.

From there it is a simple process of lining everything up and gluing/screwing it together. One trick of this unit is that the weight of the hammock is placed over the ends of the uprights and then transferred down to the base board. This results in mostly compression stresses on the uprights.

I've tested it with me in it, bouncing slightly. I'm about 220 pounds and it didn't seem like it was going to fail. Further testing is in the near future.

For size reference, the hammock hanging in the stand is a full 4-yard DIY hammock.

The base boards are not bending in this picture. That is an effect caused by the wide angle lens used to try and get the whole thing in the frame.

As you can see here, this is not a small stand.

Here is a view from the tips of the uprights. Notice that the amsteel goes from the hammock, OVER the tips and down to the base boards.

Here it is, taken down and folded up.

Detail view of the joints. Everything is cut at a 30 degree angle.

My original plans were to build this prototype and see if it worked. If it did I was going to sell the plans. However, since I have received so much from this group, I am giving away these plans for free to all members.

When I set this up on the carpeted floor, there was no way that the stand was going to widen out on its own. On a slick, hard floor I could see that happening and a simple length of cord between the two base boards would stop that.

Nice looking stand. People tend to overlook plywood when building but you hit on plywood's real strength, using the edge strength of the multiple layers. Let us know how it works out in the future.
Alan

I know this is an old thread, but I don't want to "steal" PropellerHead's idea by posting a new topic using his design. I want to make a stand for a friend who rents and can't hang from the walls. Her room is small and she keeps tripping over the legs of tripod stands. We like this stand because it folds and doesn't have the back-breaker rail, and we hope it can be made taller for a Brazilian hammock, but I no longer have the tools or patience to cut and finish all those long narrow plywood strips, and the finished stand would be heavy.

I can't find directions for making either of these stands, but I can figure that out. Both look like good designs for a stand that sets up easily and can be moved or stored in a closet. I'd like some advice choosing between them, please!

I'd need to make the stand about 6-1/2 ft tall to hang a Brazilian with 45* sag, so the arms will be about 8 ft long. I can't cut all those strips of plywood as PropellerHead did, but I could make either it or the youtube stand entirely from six full 8-ft lengths of carefully chosen 2x4 or 2x6 stock "whitewood" lumber, a couple of gate or door hinges, some threaded rod, and straps across the base to prevent splaying out. Either stand would be super easy and inexpensive to make. (The other option we're considering is the brilliantly austere and sturdy Speer design pipe stand, but pipe is heavy and expensive.)

Has anybody besides the OP made a folding or take-apart wooden stand like either of these 2 designs, or have I not searched the forums carefully enough? I've seen lots of DIY folding stands made of 2x4's but they have the back-breaker base. And I need to make it taller to hang a Mayan or Brazilian. I'd appreciate any comments on the relative merits of these two designs, using stock lumber and simple tools. Thanks!

Hi, PropellerHead, Thanks for your very helpful reply. If I build your design or a modification thereof I'll be sure to post it and credit you for the original. This is quite a colossal stand, the Hammockus Maximus Titanicus! It does look enormous in the photos, and I imagine it's rather heavy as well. At 16 ft across and 6-1/2 ft high I know it can't work in a small room with coffered ceilings, but I still really like your design and smart use of materials. When you start living on your sailboat (lucky you!!!) you might consider selling it to somebody with a big room to set it up and enjoy it. Best wishes for great sailing adventures!

I really really like the floor plans on this set up. I love the idea that if there is a failure I'm not going to have a 4x4 parallel with my spine :/ To be honest it just doesn't look strong enough to hold my 300lb self.